Giveaway: Crochet Chameleon Pattern from Planet June

You’ve seen me mention crochet designer Planet June on this blog multiple times. (For example, I compared our Twitter accounts in my Twitter showdown post and I named her as one of my top ten crochet heroes.) This is due in part to the fact that I think June is a cool crochet designer who makes really fun patterns that amigurumi lovers would all really enjoy; her work is Pinterest pinnable and Ravelry queueable. But more than that, it’s because I’ve been really impressed by June’s business ideas and the way that she is truly crafting a fulfilling living for herself. I think she provides a great example for other budding solopreneurs in the arts and crafts world and that’s the real reason behind why I support her work. So today I’m really happy to share more with you about one aspect of her business model and also to give you the opportunity to win a copy of her most recent crochet pattern: a super cute little chameleon.

Crowdsourcing Pattern Commissions

What I want to tell you about is how June has started a new method of commissioning crochet patterns that relies on crowdsourced funding. I believe her approach is smart for her as well as for her customers. Most of the time if you want a crochet pattern designed especially for you then you need to pay a hefty price for that original design. The price is usually more-than-fair to the designer because of all of the work that they put into creating the design but it deters a lot of people from commissioning new designs because who wants to pay a fortune just for a crochet pattern? June’s new model solves this so that the people buying the pattern design get a low price they’re happy with and June gets a fair price for her effort.

Here’s how it works:

If you go to the commissions page you’ll see a list of patterns that June is thinking about designing. For example, right now two of the coolest patterns I think she is considering making are a capybara crochet pattern and a giant panda pattern.

If you want one of these patterns, you can pledge the amount that you’re willing to pay for the pattern to make it a reality. You can pledge anywhere from $6 to $120. Once $120 has been pledged, the pattern will be created and anyone that pledged towards it will get the completed pattern. (So, for example, let’s say that I pledge $6 for the capybara and so do 19 other people; we each paid only $6 and we all get the pattern and June gets the $120 for putting the work into making the pattern happen.)

You can easily see how much of a pledge is required to make the pattern become a reality because June’s model shows you how much has already been pledged and how much is left before it’s a fully funded commission. So let’s say that you’re deciding between the capybara and the giant panda but the giant panda only needs $6 or $12 more dollars to be fully funded. You could fund it immediately and make that happen and get your pattern relatively quickly.

What if you want a specific animal and you don’t see it on the list? June has a cool “suggest a design” feature that you can use at the bottom of the commissions page.

I really think that this is a super innovative business model for a crochet designer. It allows June to set a fair price for herself as to what she wants to be paid in order to put the effort into a design. It allows her customers to have a voice in what patterns they’d like to see. And it takes advantage of the social nature of the web that we’re all starting to get really used to because you can use your social media channels to encourage others to fund the patterns you want to see made.

I also want to say that I give June a lot of credit not only for coming up with this model but also for adapting it as she sees what works and what doesn’t. For example, when she realized that items were getting fully funded too quickly for her to pump out quality work she adjusted the amount of time she gives herself to complete the patterns. She is fully transparent about this in her blog and is open with her customers about it so that everyone knows what’s going on and why. I know way, way too many women who would just push themselves to the breaking point in this type of situation and I think it’s admirable and wonderful that June adapts to her own needs in a way that still gives her customers what they want.

Enter the Giveaway: Win Yourself a Crochet Chameleon Pattern

Okay, so now that I’m done gushing about June’s awesomeness as a business woman, let’s get to the reason you are here: winning a free crochet pattern. One lucky winner will get a PDF copy of the pattern for this super cute crochet chameleon:

This pdf pattern has detailed instructions with photos to help you along the way. It also has a section that shows you different things that you can do to pose the chameleon in different ways (walking, sitting, climbing). How fun!

Here’s what you need to do to enter to win this giveaway:

For the main required entry … Visit June’s commissions page to see what items are currently in the process of being commissioned. Then, come back here and leave me a comment telling me what idea you would suggest in June’s “suggest a design” area. Your idea should be creative (not something that’s already on her list) but it should also be something you’d actually want to buy!

Once you’ve completed the required entry, you can get one extra entry each for doing any of the following things. Once you’ve done them, leave me a single comment letting me know how many entries you get and including links to proof that you did them (so a link to the Twitter post or your FB page, for example):

31 Comments:

Ok I am following you and June on Pinterest. I pinned this post to Crochet 5. I am following her blog under Google reader, and I am subscribed to your email newsletter. What a cute chameleon. My boys would love for me to make that for them!
thanks for having the giveaway.

Hi – I wanted to comment on the foreign language piece. Awesome. I could live n this blog and get no crocheting done – at all! Cough-enabler-cough. I love the world’s crochet, it is so beautiful. Everyone who writes or posts anything about Sophie Digard designs says her designs are made by crocheters in Madagascar. And yet, I can find nothing out about the crochet origins there. While the designs are superior and the color melange work terrific, the execution of the work, from what I have been able to see once in person and on line is exquisite. Any way you can shed some light on these folks and raise their workmanship up?

Hi – I wanted to comment on the foreign language piece. Awesome. I could live n this blog and get no crocheting done – at all! Cough-enabler-cough. I love the world’s crochet, it is so beautiful. Everyone who writes or posts anything about Sophie Digard designs says her designs are made by crocheters in Madagascar. And yet, I can find nothing out about the crochet origins there. While the designs are superior and the color melange work terrific, the execution of the work, from what I have been able to see once in person and on line is exquisite. Any way you can shed some light on these folks and raise their workmanship up?

@janicedavey Thank you so much for your wonderful comment. I only know a smidge about Sophie but you’ve totally piqued my interest and I’m going to do some research and see what I can come up with. I’m super interested in fair trade crochet right now and wonder if she’s working in that area in Madagascar. I am on a mission to find out!

I like both FB pages. I follow you both on Pinterest. I follow Planet June on Google+. I signed up for your newsletter.
I’m “Debbie Constable” on FB and Google+. I’m “Waddlesworth” on Pinterest. So, that’s six extra entries. This comments box isn’t letting me copy and paste any of my links into it? My email address is Debbie.Constable@northernhealth.ca

Okay, so here it is: followed you both on Pinterest. Tweeted a link to the giveaway (which then appeared on my Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/sara.kope). Liked CC on Facebook (having already liked Planet June, which is how I found this blog) – see previous link to my Fbook page. Pinned the chameleon on my “Cool Crafts” board (http://pinterest.com/pin/244812929714731760/). Subscribed to the CC newsletter – not sure how to prove that, except that you should have. And here is my comment to suggest a design for June:Not sure if this is within the scope of possibilities, because I didn’t see any other extinct animals there, but I’m a huge velociraptor fan and I’d love to see a crochet pattern for one of those. I know she’s done other dinosaurs, but the velociraptor has been a special favourite since childhood. Blame Jurassic Park.I believe that’s seven entries, but I’m not the most mathematically minded, so feel free to double-check.